LOCALadk Magazine

LOCALadk 49 The annual turning of the leaves — everybody wants to climb the highest peaks to see the colors. In fact, weekends from Labor Day through Columbus/Indig- enous Peoples' Day host the largest crowds of the entire year at trailheads such as "The Garden" park- ing area at Keene Valley and the Adirondack Mountain Club's (ADK's) Adirondak Loj near Lake Placid. Parking along roads such as State Route 73 through the Cascade Lakes and Chapel Pond Pass is a le- thal hazard, say police authorities. So think again about where to go to view fall foliage's spectacle. Sometimes, from the rocky sum- mits of high peaks the most you can see, for all your work getting there, is the rocky summits of other high peaks. But there are loads of places in the Adirondacks where you can enjoy fall's artistry without fighting for a spot in crowded parking lots so you can hike crowded trails in order to stand on crowded summits craning your neck to get a glimpse of nature's palette. Many and widely distributed are the locations where you can enjoy calendar-worthy leaf-peeping scenes by looking UP from below rather than DOWN from above. The intersection of Rt. 73 and Adirondack Loj Road is one such magnet; so is Donnel- ly's Corners north of Saranac Lake. (Be forewarned, though, that the intersection's tiny but famous ice cream shop shuts down once schools crank back into business and it loses its employees.) The Champlain Valley is also rich in vistas, and a paddle on any pond will embed you in a spectrum of colors. There are also the lower peaks. Those shorter mountains are scattered across the three-quarters of the park that do not contain the anointed Forty-Six, from some of which there's no view anyway. They dot every corner of the Adirondack Park. Prospect, Poke-o-Moonshine, Chimney, Arab, Stillwater — often these lesser-known lower summits provide a better theater for color shows than the iconic 46, and for a lot less effort. One of my favorites among these treasures is Azure Mt., near St. Regis Falls in the remote northwest quadrant of the park. Consult ADK's Western Region guidebook or the Department of Environmental Con- servation (DEC) website for trail- head directions, and be prepared to drive down a dirt road for the last several miles. The trail is steep and eroded – repairs are planned – and it climbs close to 1,000 feet in nine-tenths of a mile, the majority in the last two-thirds. Be equipped accordingly. Views from the open summit are splendid, but climb the restored fire tower and they become exceptional, 360 degrees from Ontario across the St. Lawrence Riv- er, to Lyon Mt. on the flank of the Champlain Valley, to Whiteface and the Great Range beyond Lake Placid, to the sprawling forests of the Five Ponds Wilderness. The thousands of acres at your feet are mostly pri- vately owned, well cared for by sporting clubs, timber companies, and individuals. Above: Sandra Hildreth's oil painting of the view from A zure, painted on one of the original steps from the firetower. Opposite: The dirt road to A zure during peak foliage. Photo credit: Eric Adsit A Parishville-Hopkinton school group at the summit of A zure Mountain. Photo credit: Sandra Hildreth

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